EUGENE SANTOS, JR.
Present Position
Professor of Engineering, Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College
Chapter Affiliation
Dartmouth College
Background Information
CV
Biography
Statement
I joined Sigma Xi in 1988 and became a Full Member in 1992. Through the years, I have introduced students (both undergraduate and graduate) to Sigma Xi by encouraging them to read American Scientist to broaden their perspectives, compete in the Grants-in-Aid of Research program, and participate in activities sponsored by the local chapters. I have served on the Committee on Nominations as the Northeast Region representative, am currently the Director for the Northeast Region, and am affiliated with the Dartmouth College chapter.
As Director for the Northeast Region, I re-established an annual NE Regional Sigma Xi meeting that started this past spring. Our meetings focus on bringing together our Sigma Xi members and the area communities to showcase our region’s student scientists and their research. This first meeting was hosted on the campus of Quinnipiac University by the Quinnipiac Chapter. I am happy to report that with the great effort and dedication by the Quinnipiac Chapter and all the participants involved, we had an educational, inspirational, fun and lively meeting. It was great to personally meet and speak with many of the students across our region who presented their scientific work. Meetings for 2020 and 2021 have already been scheduled and will happen at Western Connecticut State University and the University of Bridgeport. Future annual meetings for 2022 and beyond are in the planning stages with the goal of moving across our Northeast Region to highlight science and our members’ scientific endeavors through Sigma Xi.
As a candidate for reelection, I would like to continue further developing and implementing new advocacy strategies as well as introducing opportunities in science especially to nurture and grow the coming generations of scientists in the Northeast. This involves improving connectivity between our scientists and new digital or augmented in-person technologies to meet the demands for the coming decade. Sigma Xi embodies what science is and the scientific endeavor. It serves to disseminate and make accessible the principles and practices of science to the world. We are at the forefront informing scientists not only about the latest research achievements, but also giving each of us a glimpse into other fields beyond our own. The latter is especially important as I believe it helps us to look at different points of views which can infuse us with new creativity in advancing the science in our own disciplines.